Estimated reading time: 3-4 minutes
WASHINGTON — ADHD treatments are being prescribed among adults during the Covid-19 pandemic, helping to exacerbate a shortage that is frustrating parents and doctors.
After the epidemic hit in March 2020, new stimulant drugs used to treat the disease jumped in a two-year window for young men and women. Research Published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry.
Prescriptions for nonstimulant treatments have increased among adults of all ages, Food and Drug Administration researchers found.
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common developmental disorders in children, especially boys. At the time of the outbreak, drugs such as Adderall were commonly used to treat the condition.
Telemedicine has made it easier to get help, and regulators are starting to allow doctors to prescribe drugs without first seeing a patient in person.
But Dr. Anne Childers said that after Covid-19 hit, more adults started coming to her for help. The Las Vegas psychiatrist sees several reasons behind the transition.
Working from home has made some people realize how easily distracted they can be. She said that she has researched many parents, especially mothers, who have seen children in their children and realized that they could have them too.
Additionally, social media has made people more aware of adult ADHD.
“People are more open to talking about mental health issues now,” said Childress, who was not involved in the study.
A surge in ADHD treatments coupled with manufacturing problems led to a shortage of Adderall that began a year ago. Doctors and patients said that supply problems for many treatments have not stopped.
“There are about 10 shortages every week,” Childress said.
Wendy Terry called about 20 pharmacies last month looking for Focalin, a medication for her third-grade son, who has ADHD. Some made the 45-minute drive from her home in Diball, Texas, about 100 miles north of Houston.
“They all told me the same thing: We can’t get it from the manufacturer. We don’t know when or if we will get it,” the 42-year-old said. Insurance agent.
Desperate, she briefly switched her son to another ADHD medication. But that got so bad that he had to miss school.
Terri eventually found a drugstore on the recommendation of a friend who worked at another pharmacy. She says she’s afraid to retake the test to get a refill, but her son needs help.
“When he’s not medicated, he literally can’t sit in school,” Terry said. “He can’t stop moving, he’s constantly moving. His mind is everywhere.”
Federal regulators restrict the manufacture of some ADHD medications because they are controlled substances. Mike Ganio, who studies drug shortages at the U.S. Health-System Pharmacists Association, says regulators and drugmakers try to estimate how much the drug will be needed in part.
But he pointed out that demand is difficult to predict and that spikes in consumption contribute to shortages.
“It’s a business. Nobody wants to overproduce, or have more stuff on their shelves than they need,” he said.
In all, the society counted more than 300 drug shortages in the US last fall. In addition to ADHD medications, cancer treatments such as chemotherapy remain in short supply.
Ganio predicted that the final shortfall would reach a 10-year high of 320 by the end of 2014.
The Associated Press Department of Health and Science receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science and Education Media Group. The Associated Press is solely responsible for all content.